Saturday, January 22, 2011

Oops. I swear I read this pattern over at least 4 times before publishing it on Ravelry, but found an error earlier today. The good news is that the error won't affect the finished bookmark if you follow my directions. That is because the pattern is a symmetrical design. Here is the corrected text:

Read charts from the bottom up, from right to left on right side rows (odd numbers) and from left to right on wrong side rows (even numbers). This doesn’t make a difference on a symmetrical pattern like this one, but it’s a good habit to cultivate.

Monday, January 17, 2011

This bookmark pattern was the most challenging so far. I've done 6 others. One of the challenging parts was remembering that I'm knitting most of it in a reverse stockingnette stitch, so that purls are in the front and knit stitches are the wrong side. This makes the rib stitches that make up the stem of the flower and the ribs in the leaves really stand out. The back side looks nice, too. Another challenging part of this pattern was learning the correct way to YO or yarn over between knit and purl stitches. If you don't do it the correct way, your yarn holes will close up. The finished pattern can be found on Ravelry for free.

One more challenge was translating the chart from my pencil and graph paper to a table with knitting symbols in Pages. By now, I'm getting almost as good at typing in knitting symbols as I am at typing letters! I got lots of practice with this one.

The pattern is adapted from one in the book, The Essential Stitch Collection by Lesley Stanfield and Melody Griffiths. It has very clear photographs of finished patterns as well as charts and written instructions. There are 300 patterns grouped by type, from cables to lace to stranded and intarsia. Patterns are graded by skill level.

We have a moonflower vine (Ipomoea Alba) growing on the pergola over our koi pond. At least, I think it will come back this spring. If not, it had several seed pods over the summer, from which we've saved seeds. According to Dave's Garden, the seeds are poisonous if ingested. We'll have to be careful that cats or kids don't get ahold of them. The big white flowers open at dusk and bloom through the night. The fragrance is intoxicating.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The temperatures have been yo-yoing for the past month, causing us to move plants, cover plants, bring them indoors, then move them out again. A few plants really like the cooler and even cold temperatures.

Double White Angel Trumpets made it through the cold as we covered them with a frame and sheets. We have quite a few different kinds of bromeliads, gingers, heliconias, and ferns. The newest addition to our ferns comes from my friend, Penny Titus. She brought me a starter Rabbit's Foot Fern, and gave me instructions on how to get it to root. I can't wait for fronds! When it's big enough, I'll pass on starters to my friends.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

I want to leave the shiny stuff up, but the rule (my rule) says it has to come down New Year's Day (or the day after if it's Sunday and I don't feel like doing it Saturday). One last look before it all goes in the closet. Outside and in back by the pond, and the wreath I made.

After cleaning out all of my knitting project bags, and deciding that I'm going to start fresh this year, I started another lace bookmark design and will probably post that this week. Then I get to tackle the book my friends Jimi & Leon got me for xmas, Knitted Lace Designs of Herbert Neibling. That was the nicest surprise. Franklin, if my attempt at this lace is even half as good as yours, I'll be happy (that is if it doesn't drive me stark raving mad).